20 March 2017

Afghan president's National Security Adviser said that United States and Russia should join their efforts in facilitating peace process in Afghanistan, turning this topic into an area of cooperation.MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The United States and Russia should join their efforts in facilitating peace process in Afghanistan, turning this topic into an area of cooperation, the Afghan president's National Security Adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar told Sputnik.

"We hope that Afghanistan will be a platform for the US-Russian cooperation, including other key players, because we all want Kabul to succeed in the fight against terrorism and drug threat and reach peace. We believe that it is time for turning Afghanistan into a platform for partnership, not confrontation" Atmar said in an interview.

Speaking about the US role in Afghanistan's peace process, the adviser stressed that Kabul expected from Washington specific proposals.

"During the two phone calls between our leaders and other high level contacts, we received confirmations form the US side that they pay great attention to our common interests in the fight against terrorism and reaching nationwide reconciliation. The United States confirmed its commitments to this issue. We have a good level of confidence, but this [the US] policy should transform into real action, programs. Yes, the administration has only started its work, but we expect some specific proposals, as we have already suggested ours," Atmar noted.

Afghanistan faces instability due to continued fighting between government forces and Taliban, an Islamist terror organization, outlawed in Russia. Taliban has seized vast territories in Afghan rural areas and has started conducting offensives on the state’s cities. Besides, the Daesh terrorist group, which is banned in many countries, including Russia, has expanded its influence in Afghanistan.

Kabul and Moscow have made significant headway in regulating the deliveries and maintenance of Russian helicopters, the Afghan president's National Security Adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar told Sputnik.

On Friday, Atmar held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev in Moscow.

"Without disclosing sensitive details of the negotiations, I can say that the parties have achieved significant progress in this issue," Atmar said, responding to a question on whether or not the talks included the topic of deliveries of Russian helicopters to Afghanistan and maintenance of Russian equipment.

The sides are close to settling the issue as never before, Atmar noted.

"The proposals are on the table, and the plan of activities has been agreed upon … but [because] this concerns not exclusively the deliveries [of equipment], it is also about enabling repair works for it and maintenance. [So] the work on this topic will require additional time," the Afghan national security adviser added.

Earlier this month, Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani expressed hope that Moscow would open a servicing center for helicopters in Afghanistan as soon as possible, saying the issue of maintenance of the Russian helicopters in Afghanistan and establishment of a workshop in the country had been previously discussed with Lavrov.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.